Hummus

Finally, a good recipe for hummus.  For years I was spoiled by having a great corner store that made hummus so fantastic and cheap that I stopped bothering to make it myself.  Then the store burned down, and didn’t reopen, and we moved.  A chance conversation with a neighbour presented me with a challenge of how to make it smooth and tasty, without having to pay so much for prepared food that we should be able to make ourselves.  The key for a smooth textured hummus seems to be to boil the chick peas and remove the skins.

• 1 540 ml can chick peas, drained and rinsed
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 3-4 tbsp tahini
• 1 ½ tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ c water
• at least 1 tsp sea salt

Cover chick peas with water in a medium sized pot, and boil for 30 minutes.  Drain and rinse in cold water.  Discard skins, unless you want a more rustic and less smooth dip.  Put everything in a food processor, and process until smooth.  Spoon into a container, sprinkle with paprika if desired, and serve.

Chick Pea Curry

Mark really likes this meal, and it does make an attractive vegan entrée with brown basmati rice.  I’m not a fan of chick peas, unless they’ve been turned into hummus or falafel, but this is fairly good.

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1” ginger, minced
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp curry paste
• 1 tsp cumin seeds, lightly crushed
• 1 tsp fenugreek, lightly crushed
• 1 ½ tsp onion seeds
• about 2 c water
• 1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
• ½ can crushed tomatoes
• 1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 red or green (or some of each) pepper, chopped
• salt

Put on rice to cook.

Puree onion, garlic and ginger.  Fry this in the oil until it starts to brown, adding all the seasonings but the salt.  Add water, cauliflower, tomatoes and chick peas.   Cook until cauliflower is tender, which may take up to 20 minutes.  Add peppers and cook a few minutes mores.  Add salt to taste.

Serve over rice, or with naan bread.  Makes 5-6 servings.